For the first time, a South Korean court recognized the rights of a same-sex couple on Tuesday in a landmark decision that activists hailed as a significant victory for LGBT+ rights.
The case, which is now being brought before the Supreme Court, was brought by So Seong-wook and Kim Yong-min, two men who married in 2019 in a ceremony that had no legal validity in the country under South Korean law, but it did does not recognize same-sex marriages.
In 2021, Mr So sued the country’s national health insurance service, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), after services to his registered partner, who was registered as a dependent, were suspended after the NHIS found that MM. So and Kim were a same-sex couple.
A lower court ruled in favor of the NHIS in 2022.
But in a major reversal, the Seoul Supreme Court reversed that decision Tuesday and ordered the health insurance division to restore Mr Kim’s benefits.
“Today, our rights are recognized within the legal system,” Kim said after the hearing, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “This is a victory for everyone who wants equality for same-sex couples.”
The court did not give detailed reasons for its decision.
The NHIS told AFP it would appeal.
“This ruling is important because it is the first decision by a court in South Korea to give legal recognition to same-sex couples,” Amnesty International’s Jang Boram said in a statement.
If South Korea still has a “long way (to go) to end discrimination (…), this decision gives hope that prejudice can be overcome,” said Jang Boram.
Seoul doesn’t criminalize same-sex relationships, but marriages aren’t recognized and many LGBT+ people tend to live under the radar. Activists have long insisted on the need for a law against discrimination based on sexual orientation, but no consensus has yet been reached on a text among South Korean lawmakers.